


Operation: Birthday Blowout

by TheAlmightyFool



Category: Persona 5, Persona Series
Genre: Birthday Fluff, Birthday Party, Fluff and Humor, Gen, Hijinks & Shenanigans
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-08
Updated: 2019-12-10
Packaged: 2020-06-24 10:54:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 18,672
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19722229
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheAlmightyFool/pseuds/TheAlmightyFool
Summary: Akira's summer back in Tokyo takes an unexpected turn when he and the other thieves discover that Sojiro's birthday is tomorrow. With less than 24 hours, the gang put their plan into action to throw him the greatest surprise party of his life. Can they pull it off? I mean, compared to saving the world this should be simple, right?





	1. The Reveal

“ **K.O. Perfect!** ” blared the announcer. 

“For real!? You got to be freakin kidding me!” said Ryuji, nearly bolting from his chair.

“What can I say.” said Futaba in the chair next to him, as she removed the series of tied together napkins up off her eyes. “Your in the Champ’s domain!”

It was a late August night in the attic of LeBlanc. The scorching mid-day heats have transformed into a pleasant summer breeze coming in through the open window, as the fully reunited Phantom Thieves populated Akira’s room. It has been only a few months since Golden Week that him and Morgana were able to make their way to Tokyo and finally see their friends again in person, but those handful of weeks have felt like decades to them. Once their mini road trip in March ended, there was nothing the two of them wanted to do more than to hope back on the train back to the city. It was this light at the end of the tunnel that was one of the biggest drives pushing Akira to power through his final year.

But now summer is here and so were they. A few weeks before, Akira gave his former caretaker a quick call asking if it was okay for him and Morgana to bunk in their old room during break. Sojiro agreed, and even though he tried to play it off like it was no big deal, Akira could tell how happy he was to have them back through his voice on the phone alone.

On the day he told the rest of the team that they’d be back, the faces of their fellow misfits were the first things that they saw once they stepped onto the platform, and experienced a greeting so intense that they nearly got knocked off it (though it was a moment they wouldn’t trade for the world). Once things finally got as calm as they could get with them all together, the Thieves began spit balling about how they were going to spend their break. As the cold and unforgiving grip of adulthood slowly approached the lot of them, the gang decided to jam pack this summer with as much teenage antics as they could. Every day was something different, they’re was arcade day (per Ryuji’s request,) movie day (per Akira’s request,) beach day (per Ann’s request,) picnic in the park day (per Haru’s request,) and even group homework day (per Makoto’s request.)

Today was fighting game tournament day (per Futaba’s request,) using both her modern and Akira’s retro consoles. Futaba prepared a surplus of fighting games for them to waste away the day on, though their skills varied GREATLY. But that didn’t stop them from having a fun day trying their best to beat the snot out of each other, while those not playing decided to take up the personas of not at all professional announcers and commentators.

However, it was clear from her first match that Futaba was going to be the queen of the tournament. She was dominating the competition with breaking so little of a sweat that everyone was convinced that she could win with her eyes closed. And that’s exactly what she’s doing. No one really remembers how they got here exactly, but the Phantom Thieves found themselves betting on how many matches in a row Futaba could win while wearing their makeshift blindfold.

“Uggggh! I’m out.” said an annoyed Ann, getting up from her chair among the group that crowed the front of the T.V., and instead made her way over to join Yusuke and Haru in the loser’s circle, a.k.a Akira’s bed.

“No need to fret, we saved a spot for you.” said the former.

“That’s right. Plus, it’s not so bad when you’re not the only one who was wrong.” replied the latter.

“Uhhhh, thanks guys.” said Ann, who was pretty sure that they were trying to cheer her up.

“So how many is that now” asked Morgana.

“Seven, I think. That’s you, right Makoto?” said Akira, turning to his former senpai.

“Well yes, but it was just a guess. Honestly, I’m still not really sure how you play.” she admitted.

“It’s easy, Queen!” said Futaba, turning her head around. “All you have to do is memorize which corner circles are for your light and heavy, remember to hold down back and duck at the same time while blocking, and input the limit break combo when your health gets low enough!”

“But it all sounds so complicated. Wouldn’t it just be easier to have each button do its own thing?”

“I’m going to pretend I didn’t hear that.” said Futaba, in the most serious voice you could image.

“Hey! We’re not done yet!” exclaimed Ryuji “Best eight out of 15!”

“I’ve been kicking your butt for nearly 20 minutes! Do you really think you’re going to suddenly school me now?”

“To be fair, I got real close to actually hitting you this time! Besides, I bet you can totally see through that thing!” Ryuji reached out for the napkins, but Futaba leaned as hard as she could in the other direction, extending her occupied arm out even further, nearly smacking Akira in the face.

“We already tested out the blindfold before we even stared.” said Morgana.

“If you’d like, I could wear it to verify Ryuji’s claim.” stated Yusuke.

“Simmer down, Fox.” said Ann, trying to put an end to his odd desire to be blindfolded. A desire which he has been expressed since the idea first came up.

“I’d said I’d let her wipe the floor with me a couple rounds if you wanted.” butted in Akira, trying his best not to get hit.

“You don’t understand, I can’t admit defeat now!” said a very heated Ryuji “It’s the principle of the thing! The principle!”

“Sounds like you’re all having a good time.” said a voice from the other side of the room. Futaba and Ryuji quickly ended their horseplay and returned to sitting up right, as they and the rest of the group turned their attention over to the stairwell and saw Sojiro standing at the top of it holding a package in his hand.

“Yo Sojiro! What’s you got there?” asked Futaba.

“This arrived earlier today for you.” replied Sojiro, as her made his way across the floor to give it to her. “I didn’t want to interrupt this whole game thing you had going on, so I wanted until closing to give it to you.”

“No way! Is it really here!” Without missing a beat, Futaba dropped the repurposed napkins she was holding and snatched the package out of Sojirio’s hand, then just as quickly preceded to rip that sucker apart. Once she retrieved the contents inside, she let what was left of the package fall to the floor and let out a squee so high pitched that those closest to her needed to cover their ears.

“ITSHEREITSHEREITSHEREITSHERE-” as Futaba continued here chanting, she kept turning in every direction imaginable to show off what she was holding to everyone. It was a necklace with three golden talons on it, the two on the outside being of the same size, while the one in middle was the largest.

“What here, Futaba?” said Akira, fearing that the first year was about to implode.

“It’s a first edition of the ‘Sacred Golden Trinity Talons’ from ‘Phoenix Featherman R!’” she replied, her gyrating only increasing.

“It’s the what?” asked a confused Morgana.

“In season 3, episode 18, Feather Blue was thrown from the team ship after an enemy attack and found himself stranded in the heart of a demon infested jungle, after being cornered he discovered a hidden passage leading to the ruins of the Temple of the Condor, there he had to best a shadowy version of himself by discovering that his true power came from the bonds he formed with his teammates, after beating his doppelganger, it turned out that it was the spirit of his grandfather all along, who rewarded him with his ‘Sacred Golden Trinity Talons,’ which he then used to reveal the true nature of the jungle, found the demon leader’s location, and then-”

“I’m going to stop you right there before you recap the entire show.” said Ann “I think Morgana just wanted to know why that necklace is such a big deal.”

“Oh, right.” answered Futaba, regaining a little bit of composure, as she put her long awaited necklace on. “Because it’s a super rare and valuable collector’s item. Duh!”

“Really? How did you get a hold of something like this.” asked a curious Haru.

“It wasn’t easy. I took part in an online auction for ten hours straight for this little baby!”

“Ten hours straight!?” said Yusuke, jaw nearly hitting the floor. “What about food?”

“What about the can?” added Ryuji, earning him a glare from Ann.

“Heh heh heh.” chuckled Futaba. “Once I’m in the zone all those desires just fade away.” When Futaba entered this state, the world around her ceased to exist and she transformed into a well-oiled machine, who’s only purpose was to complete the mission in front of her. It was a side of herself that both Akira and Morgana witnessed firsthand during summer of last year.

“That aside.” everyone’s attention turning back to Sojiro as he spoke. “I have to leave early in the morning to get my car’s oil changed. So, if I’m not there when you wake up that’s where I’m at. A shame I won’t be able to open the café tomorrow.”

“How come?” asked Akira. “It can’t take that long, could it?”

“In this city, yeah. Remember how long it took us to get to your school? Well the auto shop is even further than that; I’ll be lucky if I’m in bed before you lot are.”

“How about this: we could work LeBlanc for you tomorrow.” Akira motioned to his fellow thieves. “We haven’t decided on tomorrow’s plans yet, plus I think even we could run this place for a day.”

“Yeah! We could do it, no sweat!” added Futaba, who miraculously was able to get her mind off her package for a brief moment.

The rest voiced their agreement as well, until Sojiro put the brakes on it. “Do you all even hear what you’re saying? First of all, LeBlanc is way too small for everyone to be running around downstairs all day. Secondly, your breaks will be over before you know it; you all should be out there having a blast and making memories, not spend it working.”

“We know. We just wanted to give you a hand is all.” Futaba looked down and started to rub her arm, her excitement now replaced by awkwardness.

“I know I know. And I appreciate it, really.” With those words, Futaba looked up, and those coupled with the reassuring smile he gave her, Futaba’s worries started to leave her, as the joy she felt started to slowly take hold once again. “I just want you all to enjoy your youth while it lasts, and that includes you two in university, as well. Save the laboring for when your old and crusty like me.”

“Are you sure?” asked Akira.

“Of course. Besides, it’s been a while since I’ve actually gone for a drive this long. I don’t keep renewing my license for nothing. Well, other than having an excuse to show off my photogenic side.”

“His what?” inquired Makoto.

“Let me see! Let me see! Let me see!” exclaimed Futaba; hoping up from her chair and nearly knocking it in the process.

“Hey, hold on! Give me a sec here.” replied Sojiro. He was struggling enough as is trying to retrieve his wallet from his pocket with Futaba failing to respect his personal space, but the curious gazes of the others weren’t doing him any favors either.

But despite that, he was able to get his wallet, and after opening that bad boy up, he reached inside and took his license out for all to see. For a few moments, no one said a thing, they all just stared blankly at what was in front of them, in a silence so intense you could hear a pin drop. That was until Futaba broke it “*snicker* What- *snicker* Wh-what am I even looking at!?”

“Seriously! Am I looking at your driving photo or your online dating profile?” followed up Ryuji.

“That posture and eye-contact, it reminds me of what I see on the front of magazines.” said Yusuke.

“I could hook you up with a gig, if your interested!” added Ann, cheerfully.

“Okay, that’s enough disrespecting the elderly for one night.” Just as he was about to put it away, Futaba pulled out here phone and shouted-

“Wait! I have to preserve this for future generations!” After being taken off guard from the flash from Futaba’s camera, Sojiro returned his license and wallet to where they had been before.

“Alright, I better be off.” he said. “Oh yeah; one more thing. I finished mopping before coming up here, so you all be carful on the way out. You kids have a good night.”

“ **Good night**!” replied the group. And with that Sojiro took his leave down the stairwell, and excited their sight.

“It’s very kind of Boss to want us to enjoy the time we have together to the fullest.” said Haru to the others. “*giggle giggle* You three are quite lucky to have him.”

“No arguments here.” answered Morgana. “I’m pretty sure that the Chief’s eyes were getting a bit watery when he saw that we were back, right Akira?” Akira gave him a node as a smile worked its way onto his face. They both would be lying if they said that they weren’t fighting back tears as well, however. “Hard to believe he didn’t want anything to do with you at first by the way he acts now.”

His friend’s words sent Akira on a trip to the past. Whether it was being forced to sleep in an attic or being threatened to be kicked out at the first sign of trouble, Sojiro and him got off on anything but the right foot. Honestly, Akira didn’t want anything to do with him as well when he first met the man two Aprils ago. He just assumed that he was another adult who just took him in for the money and wouldn’t listen to a word he had to say about what really happened that night. But slowly, the gap that divided them lessened as time when on. Helping him run the LeBlanc, being trusted with the keys, introducing his friends, and doing everything that they could for Futaba, all this and more showed them sides of each other they could never have imagined. He’s only known the café owner for about a year and a half, but to Akira it feels like Sojiro has been a part of his entire life.

“Is something the matter?” Morgana’s voiced snapped Akira out of his reminiscing. When he came back to reality, he saw the worried look on his friend’s face, and realized just how long he was lost in though.

“O-Oh yeah! I’m fine, just thinking about some stuff. So anyway, we ready for the next match?” said Akira, one part to change the subject, another part that he was two matches away from winning the bet.

“We would be if SOMEONE would put down her phone for three seconds.” answered Ryuji, motioning to the occupied seat next to him.

“Don’t get your briefs in a bunch, Skull. I’ll mop the floor with you in a minute” answered Futaba, as her thumbs continued to dance across her touchscreen. “Oh man, just think of all the things I could do with Sojiro’s mug! I’m talking screensavers, shop edits-Oh I know! We should totally change the PT logo to ‘getting his groove on Sojiro’! I’m telling you the possibilities are endless-”

Just then, Futaba’s words stopped dead in their tracks. Her entire body suddenly stopped moving, as her face took on an expression of complete and utter shock. Before anyone could say anything, Futaba hastily made her way over to the satires and just as quickly made her way down them.

“What just happened?” asked a confused and concerned Morgana. And as if on que, they hear a shrike from their recently departed friend followed by a massive crash. Her friends cried out her name, and after leaped up from where they sat, they all proceed to bolt their way down the steps after her.

Akira was the first to reach the bottom, there he saw his techno loving friend lying flat on her back in the middle of LeBlance; her phone and glasses scattered on the ground, as her new necklace spread wildly over her face. “Futaba!” he shouted once again and hurried to her side, nearly slipping himself in the process. Once reaching her, he kneeled down, placing one hand on the back of her head, lifting it up slightly, as he placed his other hand just below the back of her neck. “Are you okay!? Are you hurt!”

“No, I’m not okay.” replied Futaba weakly, eyes barely opened. Just then the other arrived, surrounding Akira’s backside.

“Is she okay!? Here Futaba, how many fingers am I holding up?” asked Makoto, who was entering team mom mode.

“Is there any ice in the figure? Ryuji, can you check?” requested an equality worried Haru.

“On it!” replied Ryuji, wasting no time making his way to the kitchen.

“It’s not the outside that hurts!” protested Futaba. “It’s the inside…” her voice trailing off at the end.

“Wh-What do you mean?” asked Akira, now worried that she might have hit her head harder than he first thought. Futaba followed this up by pointing in the direction in which her phone laid. “Morgana!”

“On it!” Morgana scrambled over to where the device landed, and after picking it up in his mouth brought it over to the two others closes to the ground. Futaba took her cell from him, and after unlocking it, she turned it around for Akira see.

“Sojiro’s picture? What’s wrong with it?” asked Akira.

“It’s not the photo, it’s what’s off to the side…” Futaba replied, once again ending her sentence with a trail off

Wasting no time, Akira eyes began scanning that area, there he saw Sojiro’s name, address, height, birthday, blood type-

“Wait, hold on! His birthday! It’s…it’s…”

“Tomorrow…” uttered an utterly defeated sounding Futaba.

* * *

A while late, the Phantom Thieves remained on the lowest floor of LeBlance, with the boys taking the seats at the counter (except Morgana, who was occupying the counter itself), while the girls sat at both sides of one of the booths. Ann was sitting on the same side as Futaba, holding a bag of ice on the bump on the back of her head. Despite her assuring them that she was fine, the rest of the group kept insisting that she let one of them do so, until she eventual gave in. Those occupying the café continued to be wordless for some time, not a single one of them sure of what to say, a complete far cry from how they all were before Sojiro left.

“So, like, you sure he never did anything for his birthday?” said Ryuji, finally putting an end to the quietness.

“Yep. I’ve had this place bugged for years, and not once did Sojiro ever not work on his birthday.” answered Futaba, who despite how close she was to the others, sounded like she was lightyears away. “And not only that, but I don’t think even his customers knew. Not once did I ever even hear his birthday being brought up.”

“That’s so sad. I wonder what caused him to stop celebrating?” asked Haru.

“Cuz of me.” suckled Futaba, letting her head lower down into her arms on the table.

“Futaba, none of this is fault.” said Akira, trying his best to comfort her.

“It totally is. If he didn’t have to deal with me, he could have been out there having fun for his birthday, instead of having to spend them laboring all day.”

“That’s enough beating yourself up, Futaba.” said Ann in a soft voice. She then proceeded to take her free hand and gentle rub Futaba’s back with it. “I’m sure whatever reason Boss had for not celebrating his birthday isn’t because of you. So, stop putting yourself down over it, okay?”

“Perhaps, changing his car’s oil was just a ruse.” injected Yusuke. “And he’s actually going off to some sort of birthday outing tomorrow.”

“No. The oil thing is real.” muffled Futaba. “I picked up him making a call about his appointment around a week ago.”

“This place is still bugged?” said Ryuji, suddenly becoming very concerned about his surroundings.

“Face it guys, this is going to be the fifth year in a row where Sojiro doesn’t get a present, doesn’t get a cake, and doesn’t even get a card.”

The silence and heavy atmosphere returned after Futaba’s remark. The group of friends continued sitting in their spots, each one deep in thought. That was until-

“Well, guess we’ll just have to change that then.” Akira’s words drew all eyes towards him, even Futaba’s, turning her head lifting it back up a bit.

“What do you mean?” questioned Makoto.

“Exactly what I said. We’re going to make sure Sojiro has a proper birthday!”

“And how are we supposed to do that?” followed up Morgana.

“By going as clique as possible. We’re going to throw him a surprise party tomorrow!”

“A surprise party?” repeated Futaba.

“Could we even manage such a feat on so little of notice?” said Yusuke.

“We defeated a mad God hell bent on ruling on the world! If we could do that how hard could this be?”

“I second that!” announced Morgana. “I know none of us would be cool just sitting around now that we know the truth; and besides, if anyone can do this it’s the Phantom Thieves!”

“Hell yeah!” shouted Ryuji, getting a serious game face on. “If anyone is worthy of a Phantom Thief surprise party it’s Boss!”

“I must agree.” added Yusuke. “Boss offered me a roof for my head when I had nowhere else to go, and on top of that has keep the Sayuri in safe and perfect condition all this time. I would be an honor to finally be able to pay him back.”

“The same is true for me as well.” said Haru, taking her turn. “Boss was always willing to lend me a hand or advice when it came to how to run a café. No matter what, he always told me what I needed to hear and kept encouraging me forward. I’m going to do everything that I can to make sure that Boss’s has a wonderful birthday, as well!”

Makoto couldn’t help but smile and let out a small chuckle. “There’s really no stopping you all when you get like this, is there? But I agree, Boss has done so much for us that this is the least we can do.”

“Totally!” interjected Ann. “A surprise Birthday party is the perfect ‘thank you’ for Boss! Right, Futaba!? …Futaba?”

Throughout the entire chain Futaba remained silent, her eyes darting to each of her friends as they spoke, until finally, her eyes rested on the table below her.

“Sojiro always did something for me on my birthday. He would sing me the song on the other side of my door and then leave me a home baked cake alongside a present. He did it every year, even back when I wouldn’t even talk to him. In fact, I don’t think that I ever once thanked him for it, even now.” As she kept going, Futaba’s voice and head continued to lower, until her head was laying on top of her arms again.

“Futaba…” said Akira, but before he could follow up, Futaba suddenly shot up straight into her seat, sending the bag of ice flying into the air.

“But no more!” Futaba practically screamed, tears rolling down her face and now developing her own game face so intense that it was giving Ryuji’s a run for its money. “Sojiro did more for me than I’ll ever be able to do for him, but that’s not going to stop me from trying! Everyone, let’s give Sojiro the greatest surprise party in the universe!”

“Alright gang. Are we all in agreement?” The rest of the team nodded in unison, and after so long, Joker’s trademark smirk resurfaced once more!. “Okay then! Let ‘Operation: Birthday Blowout’ commence!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all so much for taking the time to read this! I'd call this my first real attempt at writing a fanfic, so I hope my writing is at least passable lol. I've got more planned and I'll do my best to get the next chapter out as soon as I can. Any and all feedback is appropriated! Thank you again for reading!


	2. The Plan

Sojiro closed his front down just as slowly as he opened it. He wasn’t sure whether Futaba was sleeping or not but wanted to make sure not to wake her, just in case. But little did he know that his adoptive daughter has been awake for quite some time, watching him make his way towards the street from her bedroom window. She kept her eye on him from behind her window’s curtains and once he was out of sight, Futaba began to write up a text in the group chat.

**Futaba: The target has entered the Sojiromobile. Making my way to the rendezvous point!**

“Sojiromobile?” said Morgana, poking his body out of Akira’s bag and over his shoulder to get a view of his phone.

“I think it has a ring to it.” replied Akira, who couldn’t help but smile at his friend’s message. He knew how excited Futaba was to not only throw Sojiro his surprise party, but also to get the chance to pull off a Phantom Thief-like operation again. A sentiment that was mutual between him and the others.

**Akira: Affirmative. Morgana and I are already here. What’s everyone else’s status?**

**Ryuji: I’m out front with Yusuke.**

**Ann: I’ll be there in just a few minutes!**

**Haru: I’m just about to leave.**

**Makoto: I’ve prepared everything on my end.**

**Yusuke: I’m out front with Ryuji.**

**Ryuji: I just told them that!**

**Akira: Alright. Don’t forget to let us know if anything happens. Good luck gang!**

It didn’t take long for them to spot the young hacker coming down the Yongen-Jaya station steps.

“Ready?” asked Akira, once Futaba hustled her way over.

“I was born ready!” replied Futaba, adrenaline pumping through her veins as she, Akira and Morgana stepped onto the train.

* * *

_The napkins ended up serving another purpose that night, as the Phantom Thieves spread them out across the café table. Using a marker, they wrote out the words “Operation: Birthday Blowout” at the top and below it wrote out the three categories: “Supplies,” “Cake,” and “Present.”_

_“Let’s start with the ‘Supplies’ team.” announced Akira, holding the marker. He stood on the outside of the booth with Ryuji and Yusuke by next to him, as the girls, minus Futaba, remained in their seats. Morgana moved from the counter to Haru’s lap, his front paws on the table to keep up with what Akira wrote. “You’re positive the store you’re talking about has party supplies, right Ryuji?”_

_“100 percent!” answered Ryuji. “I’ve never actually been in there, but they always put up signs about what kind of sales their having and I saw birthday stuff a couple times.”_

_“Okay then, I want you to send the directions to Ann and Yusuke and have you three make up the ‘Supplies’ team.” When it came to the decorations and other supplies, Akira reasoned that an artist and fashion model would be the best choices within their group. As for Ryuji, not only did he know where to go, but Akira also figured that the former sports pro would be perfect for not only helping them carry the supplies, but also helping the two set it all up, as well. “That okay with you all?”_

_“Totally!” answered Ryuji._

_“No complaints here!” said Ann._

_“I have no objections as well.” added Yusuke. “It’s time to let the raging arts within me come forth!”_

* * *

“All I’m saying is that if I didn’t have the pressure of the bet I would have done better.” said blonde.

“Naturally.” replied Yusuke, not buying it.

The two boys stood outside the store, waiting for the final member of their trio to show up. Shortly after Yusuke meet up with Ryuji in front of the apartment building that he lives in, Ann sent Ryuji a text, telling them that she was running late and that they should go on ahead wait for her in front of store. When Ryuji asked how she would know where to go, she assured them that she would be able to find it based on the directions that he gave her. But despite this, Ann has still has yet to show up.

“What’s taking her? You think she got lost” asked Ryuji, as his foot continued to tap against the pavement.

“Why not give her a call?”

“Yeah-no.” Ryuji stopped tapping. “She could have ended up on the other side of the city and she would still chew me out for not trusting her.”

“In that case, I’ll just give her a call then.”

“Don’t do that!” Ryuji’s outburst stopped Yusuke before he could even get his hand into his pocket. “Even if it’s you who calls she’ll still take it out on me.”

“And why would that be?”

“Hell, if I know.”

“You two seem to have quite the open dynamic.” Yusuke’s words caused Ryuji to shoot him a confused grin. “I feel as though Ann never has the need to filter herself towards you. That she can always to honest with you.”

“Really… Well, not to brag; but now that you mention it, I do feel like she’d be lost in more ways than one without me.” A large doofy grin started to overtake Ryuji’s face as he counited to speak. “Like, when we all went to the beach, she gave me like a ten-minute rant about how the guy in front of her at the line for the concession stand keep arguing and yelling on his phone. Seriously, her face just kept getting redder and redder and it sure wasn’t because she forgot to put on sunscreen! Man, I swear she was about to-

“Ryuji, think long and hard about whether or not you want to finish that sentence.” A chill shoot down Ryuji’s spine, as turned around to see Ann with daggers in her eyes.

“Oh, there you are, Ann. We were just talking about you.” said Yusuke, completely obvious to the tone of the scene in front of him.

“So, I heard.”

“Uh, well, I mean… it’s like… so how was the train ride?” said Ryuji, doing his best to change topics. The desperation in his voice was crystal clear.

“Fine.” answered Ann, the seriousness in her tone not changing in the slightest.

“What are all those bags for?” asked Yusuke. Ryuji had been so distracted by saving face, that he failed to notice the huge bags Ann had in both her hands, until the artist pointed them out.

“When I was on my way, I figured that it would be easier to carry everything using bags bigger than the ones they would probably have at the store.” Ryuji was thanking every God in existence that Ann’s attention seemed to be drifting away from him. “Luckily, I have plenty of leftover bags from clothes and shoe shopping, so I went back to my room to grab some. It’s why there was a slight delay.”

“Are we really going to be carrying that much stuff?” asked Ryuji. He knew he was taking a gamble by speaking up, but he wanted to do everything in his power to make sure Ann stayed on this topic.

“Better safe than sorry, right?” And from the sound of it, it was paying off.

“I must agree.” followed Yusuke. “I refuse to accept anything less than perfection! And if we must buy out the entire store to do so, then so be it!”

“Uh, should you really be playing that fast and loose with Akira’s money?” said Ryuji. When it came to the party funds, everyone chipped in for it, with Akira easily providing the most. Yusuke ended up provided the least, with even Morgana somehow having more money to spare.

“On, that reminds me. You remembered to bring the key with you, right?” asked Ann.

“Yep! Got it right here in my pocket!” Ryuji tapped the side of his pants twice. Before the team broke for the night, Akira gave Ryuji his key to LeBelanc, wanting them to start setting up as soon as they could. “Anyway, we’re running late as is. Let’s get going!”

“Yes, our moment to shine is upon us!” And with that statement, Yusuke rushed head first into the building.

“Yusuke, wait for us!” shouted Ann, as her and Ryuji quickly followed after him.

* * *

_“And now for the ‘Cake’ team.” said Akira, as he finished writing Ryuji’s, Ann’s and Yusuke’s names down. He might only really be experienced with curry, but Akira figured that he knew his way around a kitchen well enough to be up for the task. However, he already decided that whatever Futaba came up with he should be there to give her a hand with it, so him being part of team “Cake” was a no go. And since Morgana’s feline form would make cooking next to impossible for him, that left- “Makoto, Haru would you guys be up for the task?”_

_“I have prepared my fair share of meals, but never anything like cake before.” said Makoto. “But I’m fairly certain that the cookbook I have at home has a dessert section. Most of what I make comes from simply following its directions, so I should be able to manage.”_

_When it came to what to do for the cake, there was a brief period where just picking one up was on the table. But Futaba was adamant that the cake they use should be home made, like the ones Sojiro gave to her. She reasoned that a cake made from scratch has that extra bit of love to it, a sentiment that the rest of the group found themselves agreeing with, so the idea of a store bough cake was quickly scrapped._

_“I don’t have much experience either.” added the second University student. “But I’m positive with Mako-chan’s guidance the two of us could pull it off!”_

_“Don’t you have a huge kitchen at your place, Haru?” asked Ryuji. “I bet the two of you could make a ginormous cake there!”_

_“The idea does sound nice; however, I do not wish to disrupt the kitchen staff’s hard work. But I may be able to borrow some ingredients from them. Could you text me what we need when you get home, Mako-chan?”_

_“If it’s alright with them, sure. I may already have some of the ingredients already, but I’ll let you know what I’m missing.”_

_“And that makes two for team two.” said Akira, as he began to write their names down._

* * *

Makoto wasted no time making her way to the door once she heard it knock. She spent all morning preparing her kitchen for the task ahead and the desire to get down to work has been pumping through her since then.

“Hello Haru! Are you reaDY-” When Makoto texted Haru last night, she informed her that there were only a few things she was missing. After she had assured Makoto that what they would need she could procure from her kitchen, the two deiced that it wouldn’t hurt to bring extras of what Makoto had as well just in case, providing it was no trouble for her. While Makoto had been expecting her friend’s arms to be holding quite a bit, she did not expect that Haru would be completely cloaked behind a wall of flour bags, egg cartons, tubes of icing, sticks of butter, strawberries and whatever else wasn’t nailed to the floor.

_“How can she carry all that!? How did she take all this on the train!? How did she even knock my door!?”_ This and a thousand other thoughts rushed through Makoto’s head as she continued to stare blankly at the sight in front of her.

“Uh… Mako-chan? Are you still there?” came Haru’s voice from the other side.

“Oh right, sorry! Here, let me give you a hand!” Her friend’s words knocked her out of her trance and Makoto began lighting Haru’s load. Once they were both inside, Haru kicked the door behind her shut and the two began placing what they were holding on the open spots in the kitchen and the rest on the dining table, once they ran out of room. “Sorry I didn’t prepare more space. This was… a little more than I was expecting.”

“No need to worry. I’m just glad I didn’t drop anything on my way over. Though, walking practically blind through Shibuya rush hour was a tad more challenging than I internally thought.” Haru’s eyes scanned the rest of the apartment, before finally falling back on Makoto. “Is your sister not here?”

“No, she had to work today. But I told her what we’re doing and she’s completely fine with it. She even offered to clean up if we fell behind schedule.” A warm smile began to grow on Makoto’s face.

“Sounds like Boss isn’t the only one who warmed up a bit last year.” Haru then proceeded to give her friend a smile just as soft.

“Yeah, she would have lost it if I tried something like this before.” Makoto found herself drifting out of reality once more, recalling just how more open her and her sister are with each other now. It was just like how they use to be when their Father was still around; a level of love and trust, that for a while, she thought that they might never reach again. But the reminiscing did not last long; Makoto brought herself back to the real world, knowing that they had an ordeal to conquer and on a ticking clock, no less. “Anyway, are you ready to get to started?”

“I’d say it’s time-” Haru reached for one of the egg cartons. Holding it next to her face and giving her friend a wink. “We get cracking!”

* * *

_“And last, but not least.” Even before he began wrapping his head around how to divide everyone up, Akira had a feeling that the three of them would end up together somehow. It’s not that he didn’t think Futaba was capable enough, it’s just that for a job as delicate as this it might be best for her to have her “key item” around, just to be safe. “How it’s coming, Futaba?”_

_“…”_

_“Gotcha.” They’ve all known Sojiro for more than while, but when it came to the task of figuring out his perfect present, they would all be taking a shot in the dark. The group bounced some ideas off each other, ranging from stuff for the café to stuff he could use in his private dwellings, (phrasing, Yusuke) but no matter what came to mind, it just ending up feeling like it would be a half-hearted gift. It was then Futaba declared that she would “enter the deepest corners of her mind’s vault of memories” to figure this mystery out, moved two booths down, sat in her iconic crouching position, and has remained perfectly still ever since they started grouping the teams up. So still in fact, that the others were fairly sure that she hasn’t even blinked this entire time._

_“Is she really okay like that?” Haru asked concernedly. “Should we try and break her out of her… errrr… trance, I guess?”_

_“I don’t think it would do any good.” replied Akira. “She’s in her ‘zone’ again.”_

_“Honestly, this whole zone thing is starting to freak me out.” said Ryuji. “I mean, who goes that long without moving? That can’t be normal!”_

_“To be fair, she was out for about, what was it? Like, 20 days last year.” pipped up Morgana from Haru’s lap. “And she turned out just fine in the end, even Doctor Takami said so.”_

_“But still, maybe we should come up with a way to bring her back to Earth when this is all over.” injected Ann. “Probably not the best thing to keep letting her have these out of body experiences.”_

_“Maybe we could think of something that would trigger her out of this state.” said Makoto, placing her hand under her chin as she began to enter her own deep thoughts. “Like an object or event that would get her attention no matter what.”_

_“I could try whipping her up some of Sojiro’s curry.” answered Akira. “She can never get enough of that. Though, I think we’re short on ingredients at the moment.”_

_“Something to keep in mind for the future, I suppose.” added Yusuke._

_“…future.” All heads shot towards Futaba as she said her first words for what felt like forever._

_“Futaba?” asked Akira, taken aback at her sudden sign of life._

_“…future. Future. Future! FUTURE! THAT’S IT!” In a single movement, Futaba bursted from her seat and threw hers arms up into the air and her head back, looking like she just found enlightenment._

_“What’s it?” The confusion in Akira only grew as Futaba bolted over to the group, stopped dead in her tracks and gave her fellow Thieves the most starry-filled eyes you could imagine._

_“Remember last year, when we went to the movies across the street!?”_

_“Oh yeah, what was that again… ‘Back to the Ninja,’ right?”_

_“EXACTULY!” Just the mere mention of the name caused Futaba’s voice to reach dangerously high frequencies, causing the group to have to cover their ears once again. The jury was still out on whether it was about the same or higher than when she got her talons earlier. “It just hit me where I first heard about that movie from! It was from my mom!”_

_“Your mom?” said Haru. Futaba had everyone’s undivided attention before, but this new element only served to heighten it._

_“Yeah! Mom use to tell me the story of how Sojiro took her out to see it when it first came out! About how road construction almost made them late, how they had to sprint to the theater because it was pouring, and they forgot to bring an umbrella! How despite being soaked and not having any time to go to the bathroom, getting to see that movie with him was some of the most fun she ever had in her entire life! Whenever mom talked about that day, she always smiled, every single time.”_

_“Sounds like it really meant a lot to her.” said Ann, who couldn’t help but smile herself._

_“Not only her, Sojiro too. Whenever I asked him about it, he always ended up with a ginormous grin on his face, as well.” The energy from Futaba’s rush was staring to fade, replaced with a much more soft and subdued tone. Taking note of this, those standing cleared a path, as Ann patted the empty spot next to her. Futaba took her up on her offer and returned to where she was previously sitting._

_“So, you think we should get him that movie as his gift?” said Ryuji, him and the others returning to the front of the table._

_Futaba shook her head. “No, that would be to simple. We need to go beyond just the movie to really knock Sojiro’s pants off!”_

_“How would we go about that?” asked Makoto._

_“Heh-heh-heh!” As Futaba chucked, she took out her phone and started to punch away at the touchscreen. “’Back to the Ninja’ is actually part one of a trilogy. They never ended up getting the chance to go see the other ones in theater but caught two and three on T.V. a couple of times. Mom told me that later down the line they released a box set of the entire trilogy for VHS, and that they were the director’s cut versions to boot. She said her and Sojiro promised to one day pick it up and marathon the whole thing, but they both got busy with work and then later I happened, and the whole thing ended up falling through.”_

_“So, you want to get him the box set?” asked Morgana._

_“Un-hu. And I know just the place to look.” Futaba keep her thumbs going without missing a beat, borderline almost reentering the zone. “There’s a place in Akihabra that specializes in all sorts of retro nerdy stuff. And with any luck, a series as iconic as ‘Back to the Ninja’ should be right up their ally! Come on, come on… YES!”_

_Futaba flung her phone around for all to see. Listed on the store’s sight was complete set. There was just one problem-_

_“It’s how much!” exclaimed Morgana, as him and the rest of the thieves nearly dropped their jaws. If you weren’t in the know for how much collector’s editions like this could cost, you would swear someone accidentally held their figure down on the zero key. And that was especially true given this set’s particular packaging._

_“Does it say anything about a non-mint condition being cheaper?” asked Akira, doing his best to support Yusuke, who nearly fainted at the sight of the price tag._

_“It doesn’t. Because not only does it say that mint-condition is the only one they have, but also that the one here is the ‘only’ only one they have.” said the hacker._

_“So, this is our only shot?” questioned Ann._

_“Having to part with that much money is…is…” added Yusuke, who sounded like he was about to throw up._

_“I don’t care if it costs an arm and a leg!” declared Futaba. “This has to be it! Not only would it be perfect for Sojiro, but... well… I feel like this is what mom would have gotten him if she had the chance...”_

_The heaviness of the atmosphere increased, as things returned to an all too familiar silence. Even Futaba was at a loss of how to respond to her statement._

_“…Alright then.” said Akira, loosening his grip on Yusuke; the sudden quietness returning the artist to a somewhat normal capacity. “Looks like we have our target.”_

_“You mean it!? Really!?” Futaba’s voice nearly cracked._

_“Of course. I’ve actually been saving my cut of our Phantom Thieves loot for a rainy day like this. Taking that into account, we should be able afford it, no problem. You know how to get there?”_

_“Uh-hu! Uh-hu!” Futaba nodded at a concernly fast speed. “There’s no corner of Akiharba that I don’t know of!”_

_“Good. So, you ready to lend us a hand, Morgana? No telling what kind of speedbumps we might run into.”_

_“I though you never ask.” replied their tiny fellow. “We’ll secure the Chief’s treasure in the blink of an eye!”_

_“All right, team.” Akira began to write down the final group’s names. “We all got our assignments. Now, it’s show time!"_

* * *

The buildings of the bustling city continued to zoom past them in the blink of an eye. The Present squad was on their second train ride and were lucky enough to score themselves a seat.

“And it’s all thanks to these!” said Futaba, holding up the strings of the necklace around her neck so her two companies could get a better view of her talons.

“What does those have to do with anything?” asked Morgana, pocking his head out from the bag currently resting on Akira’s lap.

“Can’t you tell? They’re giving off all sorts of lucky vibes.”

“How so?” said Akira, having to scout down to make room for the new arrives from the previous stop.

“Ever since I put them on, I’ve had a feeling that there’s more to them than meets the eye. And look what happened; immediately afterwards we ended up finding out that it was Sojiro’s birthday. That can’t be a coincidence!”

“I though the reason we found out was because you wanted to turn boss into a screensaver.” said Morgana, receiving a two-time button mash from the redhead.

“And I only got that pic because Sojiro was delivering the package! So how about that!?”

“Okay! Okay! Let’s all take it down a notch.” By some miracle, Akira was able to get the first-year to settle down and not a moment too soon. The train was starting to become a bit too crowed from Futaba’s rowdiness after the last stop.

“So how far is this place from the station?” asked Akira.

“Farther down than that huge electronic store we went to last year, but we’ll still be there in no time. Heck, we’ll probably beat Ann’s group back.”

“That’s good; we’ll be able to help them set things up then. I doubt Makoto and Haru will be that long either, so if all goes well, we’ll have everything set up with time to spear. Though the cake might spoil if we leave it out for too long. We’ll have to clear some space in the fridge and- OOOWWW!” Akira felt a sharp pain come down on his toe and couldn’t help but let out a yelp. He pulled his foot back towards their seat as far as he could and turned his head up to see a man wearing a shirt with the Phoenix Feathermen logo on it.

“Oh, my bad. Sorry.” said the man, shifting away the few centimeters that the car allowed him.

“Are you okay?” said Morgana, him and Futaba giving him a worried look.

“Yeah, I’m fine.” replied Akira, turning his attention back to his two friends.

“That’s good. But man, this place is packed. Even for Tokyo this seems like a bit much.”

Morgana’s words made the two others realize how right he was. They were so lost in conversation that they failed to notice themselves being packed in like canned fish. They could hardly even see to the side of the car there were so many people.

“What’s going on?” questioned Akira.

“Hold on you two.” butted in Futaba. “Take a closer look at some of them. Anime t-shirts, uncombed hair, overpriced accessories, and *sniff* *sniff* a distinct lack of basic hygiene…” Futaba’s eyes suddenly widened, as realization hit her in the face like a truck. “Oh no! That’s today!?”

“What’s today?” asked Akira, not liking where this way going.

“The Akihabra summer sale! Every year nearly ever shop in the district takes part in it and nerds far and wide flood the streets looking for some sweet deals! It’s absolute chaos!”

“Why didn’t you tell us that beforehand!?” asked Morgana, unamused.

“Because I never thought I’d ever actually get to go, so I stopped keeping track! Oh man, what are we going to do?”

“Relax and take some deep breaths, Futaba.” said Akira, doing his best to calm her. “Whether there’s a massive sale going on or not doesn’t change anything. We just need to go to the store, buy the set, and get back to LeBlanc. Right?”

“Yeah but, what if someone else buys it before us?” The other two didn’t want to admit it, but the threat of someone else getting their hands on the gift before they could was a constantly looming one. The thought has been in the back of all of their minds since last night, and this wretch in their operation only served to amplify it.

“The website didn’t say anything about that item being on sale tomorrow, right?”

“R-Right.”

“And with how expensive it is it seems unlikely that someone would get caught up in the moment and impulse buy it either.” Akira was well aware that he was trying to convince himself as much as Futaba, but nevertheless he continued. “So as long as we make a b-line for the store, I’m sure we’ll get it before anyone else can even think about buying it. So, we have nothing to worry about.”

“But-but, what if the crowds slow us down and we can’t reach in in time?” The anxiety in Futaba’s voice has only increased.

“They won’t be a problem. I mean, compared to how cramped this train is how bad could it be?”

It was bad. After fighting tooth and nail through the train exit and station, the trio found themselves facing an ocean of people and a sea of figurine and waifu white noise. No matter where they looked, they couldn’t find a single spot that wasn’t an overcrowded cluster.

“Uh…uh…” whimpered out Futaba.

“Futaba are you going to be able to handle this?” asked Akira. She improved a lot since last year, but she has never dealt with this sort of madness before. In that moment the only thing she wanted to do was go back home and hide under her covers. She lowered her head in an attempt to shut everything around her out, but it was then she saw her talons. The memory of Sojiro giving them to her flashed before her eyes, with the memories of everything else he did for her following soon after.

“AAAAAHHHHH!” shouted Futaba, feeling a newfound strength swell within her. “I’m not same person I was before, I can do this!”

Futaba clutched her talons with one hand and grabbed Akira’s arm with the other, dragging him and Morgana into the onslaught on nerdiness ahead. “ONWARD!!!”

* * *

“So, we need balloons, party hats, those things that you blow into and they stretch out, oh, can’t have a party without streamers-.” Ann continued to list more items off to herself, as she kept grapping nearly everything off the shelf. The store wasn’t big enough to have buggies, but they did have some plastic containers with handles, though they did fill up a little too quickly for Ann’s liking.

“Remember to give everything a good feeling. We must make sure that we pick out the absolute best.” said Yusuke, holding a handle in each of his hands, doing his best to balance the overflowing supplies.

“First of all, please reword that. And second of all, this isn’t fruit shopping, Yusuke.”

“Nonsense, this sort of mentality applies to all forms of shopping. One time, I was able to get five yen off my purchase, because I noticed that the tip of one of my paint brushes with chipped.”

“Trust me, Yusuke. I may not be an artist, but I got an eye for this stuff.” Ann followed up with a wink. “I’ll make sure we pick out the absolute best.”

“I’m certain that you do, I just want to be absolutely sure that we use only the best. I don’t know that I could fathom it if we didn’t.”

“Don’t worry, we will.” Ann then looked down both ends of the aisle. “What’s taking Ryuji so long? To think he had the nerve to complain about me being late.”

And as if on que, Ryuji turned the coroner, making his way over towards Ann and Yusuke. “Took some time, but I found the perfect one! What do you think?”

Ryuji lifted up what was in his hand and showed it to the others. It was a card with a picture of a skeleton wearing a birthday hat on it, sitting at a table with people and a cake in front of him. At the top were the words “Congrats to still Kicking!”

“Pretty good, huh?”

“Are you crazy!?” said Ann, nearly shouting. “We can’t give him something like this!”

“Why not? It’s hilarious, he’ll love it.”

“I find it to be more tackles.” added Yusuke, who’s movements of disgust caused him to nearly spill what he was holding.

“I mean, who in the world would want a birthday card that talks about them dying?” said Ann.

“Ain’t old guys supposed to love this kind of humor, though?” refuted Ryuji, still confused as to what the big deal was.

“Not everyone is going to like the same thing just because they’re the same age! Plus, boss isn’t even that old! He’s only…” Ann’s voice came to a stop. “Wait, how old is he?”

“You don’t know!?” said a shocked Yusuke. “But neither do I! You know, right Ryuji!?”

“Nope.” replied Ryuji, nonchalantly. “Why’s that such a big deal?”

“Don’t you understand!? If we do not know his age how are we suppose to secure the appropriately number candles!?”

“Can’t you just use ones that aren’t numbers?”

“You want us to settle for mere generality!? If we were to use anything less than number candles, then I’d… I’d-” Unable to keep his composure, Yusuke let some of the container’s cargo fall to the floor and from the looks of it, himself as well.

“Get a hold of yourself, Yusuke!” said Ann, raising her voice again. “I know it stinks, but we’ll just have to make do.”

“Make do!? I cannot simply make do! I know, we’ll purchase two of each number!”

“But we still wouldn’t know which ones to use.” pointed out Ryuji.

“And it would be super awkward to ask him after we yell surprise.” added Ann. “Yusuke!” She and Ryuji stared at the artist in a worry as the color began to drain from his face.

“Don’t go dying on us, dude!” panicked Ryuji. Until suddenly- “Wait, I know! Futaba took a picture of his license, right? So, we can just text her about how old Boss is.”

“Yes, yes! Do that!” said Yusuke, regaining a tad bit of strength.

Wasting on time, Ryuji took out his phone and hurried to pull up the texting app. “Come on, come on… Dammit! I can’t get a single in here.”

“Then we must make haste outside!” In the blink of an eye, Yusuke turned and ran sprinted towards the entrance. In his wake was a trail of everything he’d been holding.

“Yusuke, wait!” shouted Ann, but it was too late. An alarm buzzer suddenly went off as the remaining two teens became painfully aware of just how much of a mess they were in for. “Great…”

* * *

“And… finished.” said Makoto, pulling back the tube of frosting, getting a good look at her and Haru’s handiwork. The cake was cover top to bottom in creamy white icing, while on the surface were the words “Happy Birthday,” surrounded by a ring of freshly cut strawberries. They did consider giving Akira a call so they could add Sojiro’s age, but knowing the supplies team, they were most likely going to pick up the appropriately numbered candles already. “Well, what do you think?”

“I think it’s perfect, Mako-chan!” answered Haru, as Makoto proceeded to screw the cap back on.

“I’ll admit, I was a bit worried at first. I thought it was going to take a lot longer to get done, but it ended up being, well, a piece of cake.” Makoto couldn’t help but smile at her extremely corny remark, knowing how the old her would have never even considered cracking a joke, not even for a moment like this. Meanwhile, Haru couldn’t help but smile at seeing how much her friend was willing to let her boundaries down. And she did think the punchline was pretty clever.

“I understand what you mean. I was a bit unsure myself before we started. I thought for certain that I was cutting the strawberries much too unevenly. But looking back, that was a silly thing to worry about.”

“Same here. I kept thinking that I was putting on too much frosting or that some of the letters were crooked.”

“That’s nothing. I was afraid the left side wasn’t puffy enough.”

“Try this; my mind couldn’t stop worrying about how I might have added two centimeters of sugar too many.”

“He-he! This all sounds so funny when you say it out loud.” The two chuckled at their previous worries as they continued to take in the final product. And continued to take it in. And continued. And continued. And continued while the entire world around them seemed to go dead silent.

“Well… actually that one right there is a bit bigger than its neighbors.” said Haru, pointing at one of the strawberries.

“And looking at it now… The second ‘p’ does look crooked. Same for the ‘t.’… Plus the dot on top of the ‘i’ is way too big.” followed up Makoto, as she continued to notice more and more flaws.

“I should have brought this up earlier, but it did feel like one or two of the eggs cracked a little too easily.”

“While we’re on the subject, I’m pretty sure it was actually more than two centimeters.” The duo continued to list off more and more issues until they piled up into a mountain of mistakes. The cake that they had been so proud of only a few moments ago now only brought them shame when they looked at it.

“Mabey…maybe we shouldn’t serve this.” Haru’s eyes went back and forth across the counter of supplies. She just wanted something, anything else to look at. “I feel like it would just disappoint everyone, especially after they all worked so hard on their ends.”

“I…I agree. Plus, in hindsight, it was way too small for everyone to enjoy, anyway.” Makoto let out a sigh, feeling like she was just denied her dream university, this was all such a punch in the gut.

“What should we do now? Buy one?”

“I don’t know. They were all expecting us to bake it so much that if we did, I feel like we would let everyone down even more. Especially Futaba.” Makoto eyes darted to the clock on the wall. “…I guess we just have to give it another go.”

“Really!?” Haru’s eyes widen in shock. “After how poorly our first attempt turned out?”

“Well… look at it this way, now we know what not to do.” Makoto was unsure whether her comment did anything to lighten the mood, but she began to feel a second wind swell inside her non the less. “Hardly anything is good the first time you do it, and if I learned anything from last year it’s how to change. We still have plenty of time and I know deep down we can pull this off. So, what do you say, Haru?”

“Yeah… Yeah, you’re right! We can do this; for Boss and for everyone else!” The fire deep inside Haru began to rekindle. “And you said you thought the cake was too small, right? I did bring some extra baking pans, big and small, just in case; so why don’t we make this one bigger and better!?”

“I was thinking the exact same thing.” The sprit they had at the beginning flowed through the two of them once again, as they prepared to tackle the cake cooking challenge for the second time. “I mean, we can’t do any worse.”

* * *

Futaba slammed her hands on her knees, desperately trying to catch her breath. She was panting so intensely that she could probably power a windmill.

“Are you guys okay?” asked Morgana, hopping down. At first, they planned to keep him in the bag, but that proved to be a bad idea in nearly an instance. Trying to worm their ways through the crowds was like being stuck between 1000 rocks and 1000 hard places. From every known direction the three were being shoved, squished, spun, and sidelined by gangs of geeks. Knowing Morgana would end up crushed, Akira let his friend free; and while Morgana was okay on his own during the brief periods where their personal space was respected, when it came time to tackle the crowds, the tool expert had to ride shot on Akira’s head. Speaking of-

“Well *pant* I’m *pant* alive.” said Akira, between breaths.

“I..m *cough* no…t.” spoke Futaba, struggling considerably more than her leader to stay conscious. They thought it couldn’t get much worse after fighting their way through the retro game sale, but that was child’s play compared to the two for one anime bikini calendars. Futaba got washed away in the confusion and Akira had to let out a shout about how they had blue-rays of _Zombie Beach Party Panic Uncut_ down the street just so he could clear even a semblance of a path towards her.

However, nothing would have ever prepared them for the idol fans. It was an all-out brawl for a couple of rare autographed Risette CDs, with only a few hundred ever being given out during a sweepstakes. To avoid the melee, they had to crawl their way underneath the foldable tables while they were being shaken and stirred all over the place, having to make mad dashes to the next one when a chance revealed itself. But that still didn’t stop people from dropping like flies all around them throughout the whole ordeal. They counted 15 K.O.s before someone announced that they had Kanamin Kitchen as well.

“Don’t go… dying on me now.” Akira made his way over to support her, with Morgana close behind. “We made it… this far… we’re almost done.”

“I’m at… my limit… I can see… *wheeze*… the light.”

“Hey, come on.” Akira was finally starting to catch his breath. “We’re in the end stretch, right? We’re almost there, what’s a bit more?”

“How do you know *cough*… something worse won’t happen?” Futaba was starting to recover too. Now she only sounded like she had nine frogs in her throat.

“Name one thing that could be worse than that?”

“What are you all doing here?” That voice caused Akira and Futaba’s sweat to run cool. They raised their heads up and came face-to-face with the birthday boy himself. In that moment, Akira would have gladly taken another round with a world ending God.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all so much for your kinds words and kudos! When I posted the first chapter I thought that next to no one would really care, so seeing such positive feedback had me feeling like I was on top of the world! I'm aiming to have the final chapter done before my next semester starts, but for now I hope you all find this chapter just as enjoyable if not more so than the first. Any and all feedback is appreciated; thank you all again!


	3. The Party

“Uh…” Akira was at a complete lost for what to do as he looked Sojiro in the eyes. The last year and a half of his life trained him to expect the unexpected, but running into Sojiro while they were in the middle of trying to get his present? Well, he never saw it coming.

“And why do you two look like you just ran a marathon-Oh, I get it. You guys are here because of whatever this all is.” said Sojiro.

“Huh… Oh, yeah you’re right!” said Akira, a little too quick for his liking. “We’re here for all these hot deals! And the reason we look so tired is because of them crazy crowds, right Futaba?”

“Wha-I mean yeah, totally!” blurted out Futaba. The complete 180 of the situation caused the hacker to forget how exhausted she was.

“Why did you bring him?” asked Sojiro, looking down at Morgana. “Poor little guy is going to get trampled.”

“Oh-uh… weeee… brought him because of how lonely he gets without us!” answered Akira, earning him a glare from Mona. “We didn’t know how rowdy this whole thing was going to be. But don’t worry, we’re making sure he’s safe and sound. Speaking of, what are you doing here?”

“The auto shop I went to is just a couple blocks down from here.”

“It is?” said a shocked Futaba.

“Yeah, should be done soon actually. There are usually people ahead of me, but today I was the only one.” Sojiro let out a sigh, as the insides of the gift trio went into further panic mood. “If I knew it would be this quick, I might have took you guys up on your offer to watch the place.”

“So-so you’re go-going back n-now!?” Futaba stuttered out.

“Well, I was planning on getting something to eat, but all this madness really did a number on my appetite. I guess will just head ho-”

“NO!” shouted the thieves in unison (though for Sojiro Morgana’s pled was just an ear-piercing meow.)

“Wh-what do you mean ‘no?’” said Sojiro, taken aback.

“We… uh… we mean that you really should get a proper lunch before you go.” answered Akira. “You don’t want to be stuck in traffic on an empty stomach, right?”

“I mean, I guess. But I doubt there’s anywhere nearby where I can eat in peace.”

“Come on, it’s not that bad.” added Futaba, as a scream echoed out in the distant.

“I know just the place!” exclaimed Akira. “There’s a lovely little café just a few blocks down. I know you’ll love it, they got great pancakes.”

“I don’t know…” trailed off Sojiro.

“Pleeeeeaase!” butted in Futaba “I don’t want you to starve, so will you do it for me?”

“Well...”

“Besides, don’t you always get on my case for not having a proper diet.” Futaba shot her caretaker a sly look.

“Alright, you win. So, how do I get there?” Akira proceeded to give Boss the directions and after exchanging goodbyes, Sojiro went on his way.

“Isn’t that a maid café?” asked Morgana. “Why would you send him there? If your plan is to stall him, he’s going to turn back around the second he walks through the door.”

“I know, I know. It was just the only place I could think of.” As Akira said this, he whipped out his phone and began to type. “Even if by some miracle we don’t have any more hoops to jump through, by the time we get back to Yongen-Jaya, Sojiro would have probably beaten us there.”

“Yeah, but even if he’s there would he have any reason to go to LeBlanc?”

“I don’t know, but we can’t take that risk.” There would be no way for Ryuji and the others to set everything back up in time if they were forced to take everything down. And that was if they even started yet. Hoping for the best, Akira sent his text through the group chat as fast as his fingers could type.

**Akira: How’s everyone coming along.**

For a second, Akira considered letting the others know about Sojiro. But he quickly dashed that thought, not wanting to put added pressure on the other two teams. Instead, his mind started to race for an idea on how to hold Sojiro up, which only served to draw out the abnormally long response time from the others. With how quickly his team responded to their text in the past, this did no favorers to Akira’s increasing anxiety.

**Haru: My apologies for failing to notice your text.**

_Oh, thank goodness!_

**Haru: Mako-chan and I were busy applying the final touches.**

_So, they’re almost done! That’s a relief._

**Akira: No worries. You haven’t heard from the others, have you?**

**Ann: I’m here!**

**Ann: We’re all good on our end! We’ll have the café turned into party town in a flash!**

_Good. Sounds like they’re about to start._

**Akira: Great work, everyone! Futaba and I are just about to pick up his present.**

**Akira: We’ll see you all at LeBlanc in a bit.**

**Haru: See you then.**

**Ann: See you!**

_At least things are going smooth for them._ Akira was award that “just about” was a huge understatement, but knew it was best to bend the truth just a bit for now.

“So, how are they?” questioned Morgana.

“They’re all good. But still, we need to do something about Sojiro.” His team’s words helped to ease his mind a bit, as Akira went back to brainstorming. The only thing he could think of to hold Sojiro off would a traffic jam, not unlike the one they were in last year, but it was way too much of a risk to leave that to chance. For all he knows, the roads could be as clear as the day he left Tokyo and then they-

“Wait a minute…” realization hit Akira, as he began to open up his Mapping app.

“What’s wrong? Did you think of something?” Morgana gave his friend a curious look, but he was much too preoccupied by his phone to notice.

“I thought of something all right, but it’s absolutely insane.”

“Insane?”

“That’s right. And I’m going to need your help to pull it off.”

“Me!?” Morgana’s pondering shifted into worry.

“That’s right. Remember the day we left Tokyo?”

“Yeah…”

“And how there were those guys in the suits and sunglasses tailing us?”

“Yeah, I rememb- Wait a second!” Akira could tell he was not alone in thinking that this whole idea is completely ridiculous. “Are you saying that you want me to sabotage Chief’s car like I did to those government goons!?”

“Kind of.” It was then Akira found what he was looking for. He searched for any auto shops nearby, and with things going well for a change, there was only one that was in walking distance. He quickly filled his phone around to give Morgana a view. “Look, I’m not asking you to break anything, just to swipe something, hide it for a bit, and then put it back. Can you do that?”

“Well… I… I guess I could, but still! I mean this is like… like…” Morgana continued to struggle with what to say, and considering what he just trusted upon him, Akira couldn’t blame him.

“I know this is stupid and I know I’m asking a lot from you, but we don’t have time to think of something else. You’re our only hope.” Akira looked his friend sincerely in the eyes. He felt terrible forcing all this responsibility on Morgana, but he knew if anyone could pull this off it was him.

“… Alright. I’ll do it!” Morgana answered, confidence emitting from his tone. “Let me take a better look at that.”

Akira lowered his phone closer to him, as Morgana began to study his route. And after a few moments later- “Okay, I’m good to go!”

“Seriously Morgana, thank you.” replied Akira, as he put his phone away. “Are you sure the crowds won’t be a problem?”

“Did you forget who you’re taking to? They’re mere child’s play for someone with my skills!”

“I’ll leave it to you then. Also, one more thing; don’t let anyone see you. If someone there tells Sojiro that a cat was messing with his car, he’ll probably put two and two together.”

“Ha! Like I’d make a rookie mistake like that! You have nothing to worry about.”

“Alright then, good luck.” With a nod to his leader, Morgana turned around spirited down the street as fast as his legs could carry him.

_Okay, now me and Futaba just need to- wait, Futaba?_ Akira was caught up in his plan that he failed to notice that she had been completely silent ever since Sojiro left. Turing towards were she was, the third-year saw his second partner in crime lying flat on her back, not unlike how she was the night before. With the rush of Sojiro’s unexpected appearance over, her exhaustion came back with a vengeance, leaving her spread eagle on the sidewalk.

“Hoo boy.” sighed out Akira.

* * *

If Ann could possibly feel more worn-out right now, she wasn’t sure whether she would be horrified or impressed. After Yusuke’s little stunt, him, her and Ryuji were taken to the backroom for interrogation. The two blonds did their best to explain to the manager that they never meant to shoplift and that their friend just made a mistake, but if you can believe it, sprinting out the door with a basket full of unpaid goods actually looks pretty darn sketchy to someone who doesn’t know Yusuke.

Not helping matters were the surplus of ginormous bags that could easily hide nearly everything that lined the shelfs that Ann brought with her. As it turns out, that’s not as common in other stores as it is in the clothing stores she frequents, serving only to drag out the mangers’ suspicions and their time. After emptying their pockets and what felt like an entirety of questions, they were finally able to convince the manager that they were telling the truth. They figured being stuck in a room with Yusuke long enough made their plea more believable. So, after checking out what they came for and being added to the watch list, the Supplies team was on their not-so happy way.

“Once again, I would like to deeply apologize for my behavior.” said Yusuke to the two Shujin students ahead of him. Ever since leaving the store Yusuke has been riddled with guilt, apologizing non-stop and casting his head down in shame.

“For the last time dude, just forget about it.” answered Ryuji, located in the center of the trio. “We’re over it already, so just drop it.”

“But I caused so many grains of our hourglass to slip away. My actions were downright disgraceful!”

“Yusuke.” said Ann, stopping in place and turning around, causing Ryuji and Yusuke to halt their progress as well, with the latter lifting his head up. “Yeah, you screwed up, and yeah, you made us waste a lot of time, but none of that matters right now. There’s no point in worrying about things you can’t change, so instead of beating yourself up, take this opportunity to learn and grow.”

“Ann…” Yusuke was unsure of how to respond, but nevertheless started to feel the weight on his chest begin to slightly lift.

“We all do stupid things, I could fill a library with mine, but if being a Phantom Thief has taught me anything it’s to keep pushing forward! Right, Yusuke?”

“Yo… You’re… ABSOULTY RIGHT!” Yusuke’s bags began to rattle from his sudden outburst. “I need to stop getting lost in my pervious blunder and instead use it as a way to forge a path ahead! Yes, I can feel it swelling within me!”

“Now that’s the Yusuke I know!” added Ryuji. “We’d never get done in time if our ace in the hole was all mopey.”

“There’s no need to worry! I intend to make up for what I did ten-folds! Even if it means using no-non-number ca-candles!”

“Right! We’ll have LeBlanc ready in a jiff!” said Ann. She may have sounded cheery on the outside, but on the inside, she had a bad feeling she couldn’t shake.

When they got their cellphones back, they saw the message from Akira they missed. While their reply wasn’t technically a lie, they decided it might be best to leave out their “little” set back. Be there was more to it than that. Ryuji and Yusuke might not have seen anything wrong with Akira’s text, but Ann couldn’t help seeing it differently. Part of her realizes that she’s probably looking way too deep into this, but another part of her can’t stop thinking about odd it was for Akira to send them all a group message like that out of the blue. Especially since earlier he said to do that in case they run into trouble.

But still, she decided to keep quite on the whole matter. She figured it would do no go to have the boys worrying about this as well when they still have so much to do. And that’s not even factoring in how little help they could actually be on the other side of the city. Pushing the thoughts out of her mind, Ann and the rest of her group contained to carry their supplies to the station, on the train, and throughout the alleys of Yongen-Jaya. Despite them adding to their delay, the bags Ann brought turned out to be quite handy in giving the group a much smoother and efficient trip to the café.

After making their way through the narrow streets, the trio found themselves in front of their destination. It’s been one heck of a day so far, but now there was nothing left to stop them.

“I never thought I would be so relieved to see this place.” said Ann, sounding like she just stepped onto the clear, white sands of a tropical paradise.

“No kidding!” said Ryuji. “I feel like I could kiss this thing!”

“Ha Ha! That sounds like something I would expect from Yusuke.”

“Indeed.” replied Yusuke. “Though, I suppose if it were not cover in germs and bacteria, I would see on harm in-”

“Let’s put the brakes on that.” Ann was happy that Yusuke seemed back to his old self, but she was defiantly at her nonsense limit. “Anyway, unlock it Ryuji and let’s get started.”

“Do what… Oh, right! I have the key.” said Ryuji, the insanity of all that’s happened causing him to forget that little fact. The former track star put his bags down and began to fish for it in his pocket. He felt around for it, but no avail. Confused, he pulled his pocket inside out, with the only thing falling out being lint.

“That’s weird… must have been my other one.” Ryuji proceeded to reach down the pocket on the other side but found that only his phone was in there.

“Ryuji… what’s going on…” asked Ann, the faces on her Yusuke getting more and more concerned.

“I-I don’t know! It should be here…” Ryuji hands hurried to check the bottom pair of pockets on his shorts. But alas, only succeeded in finding his wallet and more lint. No matter how you sliced it, the key was- “…gone…”

“Gone? Wh-What do you mean it’s gone!?” The bliss Ann had felt moments ago crashed and burned in an instant.

“It’s like I said, it’s just… gone!”

“But how could that be!?” asked a panicked Yusuke. “You had it at the store, did you not?”

“Yeah, I’m positive I did! I don’t get how it could suddenly disappear like that- oh no!”

“What do you mean ‘oh no?’” questioned Ann, not liking at all where this was going.

“When they made us take out the stuff in our pockets, I don’t remember putting the key back in there. I… I must have forgot…”

“S… So what your saying is they key’s-”

“All the way back there…”

* * *

The silence was heavy as the two girls stared down at their latest attempt. The cake before them was not only their largest, but most extravagant one yet. Using a painstaking amount of icing, they drew a picture of a coffee cup with steam coming out of it spelling the words **HAPPY BIRTHDAY SOJIRO** in the center, while the outsides were covered by a pattern of frosted flowers and freshly cut strawberries. It was tough, it was time consuming and most of all it was-

“Another failure…” said Makoto, exhausted in both body and mind.

“I really thought that third time would be the charm…” followed up Haru, equally as tired as her friend was. They’ve been at this for what felt like weeks. No matter how bigger or better they seem to make it, their finished work was just never good enough. They were at their limit. Not helping matters was the text from Akira just moments ago, which only served to make them feel even worse about their struggles.

“I guess we’re up for round four…” Makoto realized she was just going through the motions at this point. Like a robot programmed to repeat a single task over and over again.

“Are… are we really going to be able to so this…” Haru was no better off, feeling as though she had been sucked dry.

“We don’t really have a choice… maybe this might actually be the one…” Makoto was aware of how unconvincing her tone was, and frankly, she wasn’t buying it either. But at this point, she was pass caring.

“I guess…” Too tired to argue, Haru went along with Makoto’s lead as they began to repeat the cycle again.

* * *

Akira felt as though he was opening the doors of the holy gates he was so on Death’s doormat. The inside of the shop was littered with racks and shelves containing as much geeky merch as the eye could see. Though that might have been overselling it, as Akira was sure he was seeing double at the moment.

“Hey… Futaba… we made it…” said Akira to the girl behind him. Futaba creep behind him at a snail’s pace, looking onward with a thousand-yard stare. She had been in near silence ever since they parted with Morgana. Akira felt awful dragging her through that circus but knew it would be better than leaving her alone. “Let’s get it and get out of here.”

Futaba replied with a nod, and the two made their way towards the counter. Despite the jungle they craved their way through, the store was surprising empty; only a couple others loitered the place. The boy thought it was odd, but then remembered how much he was about to pay.

Once they arrived at the counter, the man behind it had no reaction to the two who looked like they’ve been to hell. Their appearance was quite tame to the things you normally see in this line of work. He only truly took notice of them once Akira spoke up. “Do you have the mint-condition Back to the Ninja Trilogy?”

“Oh, that thing? Yeah, we don’t have it anymore.”

“WHAT!?” shouted Futaba at the top of her lungs, earning her the attention of every other soul in the building, expect the two closest to her. The employee had grown numb to this sort of thing, while Joker was just as flabbergasted to register the scream.

“What do you mean you don’t have it!?” asked Akira in a panic. “The website said you had one in stock!”

“We did have one.” said the man. “Until someone bought it earlier.”

“When!?”

“I’d say about…” The man looked down at his watch. “Ten minutes ago.”

Akira didn’t know what to say. It felt as though the entire world around them was crashing down. He just stood in stunned silence, until Futaba shattered it.

“AAAGGGHHH!” With an even bigger shout than before, the hacker bolted out the entrance.

“Futaba!” called Akira as he took off after her. Once outside, he saw his friend in the middle of the street, franticly turning her head in every direction as the mobs counited pouring in and out of buildings. He called out again as he hurried over. “Futaba! Futaba, what are you-”

“WHERE!?” Akira froze in place. “Where did he go!? Just… WHERE IS HE!?”

“Futaba…” Akira tone was soft as he gently placed a hand on her shoulder. Now it was Futaba’s turn to freeze. Directing her attention to her leader, she saw the compassionate look on his face. A few seconds later, the girl felt tears running down her cheeks.

“We…We came so far *sniff* and now… now…” With every word her water works flowed faster. Unable to take it anymore, Futaba threw herself into his chest, sobbing all over his fabric. Akira pulled her in, grateful for how much in their own little world those around him were as Futaba balled her eyes out.

He might be keeping his composure, but Akira was just as broken on the inside. Even if the guy was still by, there’d be no way to find him, even if they asked the cashier for a description. Feeling more lost than he had in a long time, Akira shut his eyes as the bitter situation began to take hold.

_…Wait…eyes?_ Akira’s jolted back open as the gears started turning in his head. It had been so long that he had completely forgotten about it. Would it work? Could he even still do it? With only one way to find out, Akira focused hard, the buildings, people, and even Futaba becoming nothing more than an outline in his vision. He scanned his third eye back and forth down the street, towards every shop and stall in sight, until-

“There!”

“H-Huh?” Futaba brought her head back and saw Akira starring down the end of the road.

“Come on!” Before Futaba knew what hit her, Akira broke off, grabbed her hand and darted towards the massive crowd.

“Wh-What are you do-doing!” A million thoughts were going through the girl’s mind as Akira wormed their way through the nerdy sea.

“No time! We got to hurry!” Akira didn’t let her words waver him for a second. Without missing a beat, he took every and all openings he saw, accelerating at a pace that even he was shocked by. But what other choice did he have? This was their last shot.

Once they emerged, the two made a leftward turn down the street. Futaba was stilling bawling out cries of panic but had nonetheless accepted that she was firmly on Akira’s wild ride at this point.

“Hey!” Akira’s voice was loud and clear once the target was in his sight. With a few more shouts, the man walking down the sidewalk realized that the calls were for him, turning around just as they were closing the gap.

“Please wait! We need-” Akira cut himself off once he finally saw the man. “Wait a second; you were that guy on the train. The one who stepped on my foot.”

“Huh?” answered the man, recalling the earlier events. “Oh, yeah. I’m sorry about that. Wait, did you track me down because of that?”

“What? No, of course not! We’re interested in that.” Akira pointed at the bag he was holding.

Futaba heeled over once Akira stopped, hands on her knees, catching her breath as best she could. She lifted her head at the exact moment Akira spoke, eyes growing wide once she saw what was in the man’s hands. _How did he know?_ thought Futaba, seeing that the logo on the plastic was the same as the store.

“You want this? Are you trying to mug me?”

“No no no!” Akira waved his hands out in front as the man took a defensive stance. “We want to but it off you. Here.” Akira reached into his pocket and retrieved his wallet. Taking out the cash he planned to purchase the box set with, Akira extended the money towards the man.

“It’s what you payed plus more. What do you say?” The man’s eyes darted back-and-forth between the money and the high-schoolers face, before he finally scoffed.

“You really think I’m going to just sell something I spent a fortune on?”

“I know, it’s crazy, but it’s for someone really special to us. So, could you find it in your heart to consider?”

“Forget it! You’re going to have to do a lot better than that if you want this.”

Akira knew how much of a longshot it was, but that didn’t stop how much it stung to hear those words. He thought desperately for anything else he could do, but before he could act on any of them, Futaba stepped out in front.

“So, you want more, right?” said Futaba, in a voice clear as day.

“Ye-Yeah.”

“Futaba, what are you-” Before he could finish, Futaba raised her hand, clamping her leader shut.

“And I take it by your shirt you like Featherman?”

“Yeah… What are you getting at-” Now it was his turn to clamp up, as Futaba lifted her necklace into view. Never in a million years did he ever expect to see what she was holding.

“If we throw this in with the money do we have a deal?”

“Are-Are those really the Sacred Golden Trinity Talons!? They must be fake!” The man took hold of the talons, Futaba still keeping a grip on them in the case he might try and bolt. He went over every centimeter, looking for anything that might indicate that they were a knockoff. But no matter how hard he searched, he found nothing of the sort.

“I DON’T BELIEVE IT! THEY’RE THE REAL DEAL!” The man felt as though he was about to have a panic attack for touching such a rare piece of Featherman merchandise history.

“So, what do you say? We have a deal?” After catching his breath, the man was deep in thought. After what felt like forever, he gave his answer.

“Deal.” A ginormous grin spread across the young girl’s face. As she prepared to remove the talons, a hand landing on her shoulder made her stop.

“Futaba, are you sure?” asked Akira. “Didn’t you say how one-of-a-kind and expensive those things were?”

“Yep. I’ll probably never get a chance like that again. But no matter how much they cost; you can’t put a bid on making Dad happy.” Futaba gave Akira a warm smile as he felt himself do the same. Sojiro really did have an amazing daughter.

* * *

“COME ON! OPEN UP YOU STUPID-”

“Knock it off, Ryuji! Before someone calls the police.” Shouted Ann towards the former runner, trying with all his might to twist the doorknob open.

“It’s all my fault.” said a sorrow filled Yusuke, sitting on the ground with his head slumped into his arms. “If I didn’t act so rashly, we wouldn’t be in this mess.”

“It’s not your fault, dude.” said Ryuji, as his head began to fall forward as well. “It’s mine for forgetting to get the key. God, that was such a dumb move on my part! Especially after Akira trusted me with it…”

“That’s enough you two.” interrupted Ann. “Like I said, beating ourselves up isn’t going to get us anywhere.”

“But what are we to do then?” asked Yusuke, lifting his head up to meet the model.

“I guess we’re just going to have to wait for Akira to show up.”

“But there’s no telling when he’ll get here!” said a flustered Ryuji. “Even if we had everyone’s help, it would still take too long to set everything up.”

“Well, unless you can think of something, we don’t have much of a choice.” The trio went silent. Ryuji tried to think of something, anything that would fix his screw up. But no matter how you sliced it, there was just no getting around it.

_Why couldn’t Boss have put a spare under the mat or have a backdoor or at least some other way to get in?... Wait a sec!_ Ryuji’s eyes widened. Not wasting any time, he quickly hurried towards the ally leading behind the café.

“Ryuji! Where are you going!” Ann’s shout fell on deaf ears as Ryuji disappeared between the buildings. Not thinking before acting herself, the blonde hurried after him, with Yusuke lifting himself up and doing the same as well, leaving the bags out front.

“What are you doing?” Once Ann caught up with Ryuji, she saw him starring upwards towards LeBlanc. Following his eyes, Ann saw what he was looking at, an open window.

“It just hit me that we had the window open last night, and lucky for us, Akira didn’t close it.” Ryuji turned towards Ann and flashed her a toothy grin.

“What’s an open window have to do with anything-” Ann felt her jaw drop. “You can’t be serious!”

“Look, it’s dumb, I know. But this is our only shot!”

“But his room is on the second floor! There’s no way we can reach it!”

“Not alone but together-” Ryuji darted towards the wall, squatting and bending forward so his back was facing skyward. “Hop on!”

“You… You got to be joking!” Ann could hardly get her words out. Out of everything that has happened today, this just might be the most ridiculous. “You want to form a human ladder!?”

“That’s the plan! If just one of us gets in, then they can unlock it! Don’t worry, I build up plenty of muscle during out time thieving!”

“This… This is… it’s just crazy!”

“I agree.” said Yusuke, arriving on the scene… Only to then walk past Ann and hoist himself on top of Ryuji.

“Yusuke! You just said you agreed!”

“And I do. But much like art and our Metaverse escapades, we never advanced by doing what those around us preserved as sane. Now quickly Ann, before Ryuji gives out!”

“Wh…What are you talking about? I’m… I’m perfectly fine.” said Ryuji, fineness sounding less than ideal.

With Ryuji already starting to exhale a ton, Ann had to think fast. With no other way in, this might actually be their best chance. But still, she couldn’t even begin with this plan. “Ugh… Ugh… Ugh! Fine!”

Casting her better judgment aside, Ann joined the two and began to scale the artist, earning her two different sets of grunts.

“Re-Ready!?” Ryuji placed his hands on the wall for support.

“Y-Yes!” answered Yusuke, following suit.

“Go!” shouted Ann, and with that, Ryuji let out a massive huff as he started to lift himself up. Yusuke adjusted his feet onto his shoulders, doing his best to rise up as well. Inch by inch, the window was slowly coming into reach. Just a little bit more. “I almost got it!”

Hearing victory so close at hand kicked Ryuji into overdrive. With a massive yell, Ryuji pushed towards the heavens, allowing the other Shunji to take hold. “I got it!”

“Here!” Ann’s brief moment of triumph was cut short by Yusuke’s voice. Removing a hand off the wall, he placed it under Ann’s foot, and did everything in his power to lift her higher. With that extra boost, Ann pushed down on the opening, bringing her body onto the window and propelling it forward, causing her fall onto her friend’s bed.

Once she hit the sheets, Ann remained motionless, say for a few blinks. She couldn’t believe it, they actually pulled it off. Launching herself up with excitement, she quickly poked out the window. “Guys, I’m in! We did-”

*CRASH*

Ann’s joy did a nosedive, face scrunching up, as the two boys lied in the middle of knocked over trashcans and other junk. She should probably hurry down.

* * *

The electric mixer stirred the batter in the pan for what felt like the millionth time. At this point Makoto was certain she could do it with her eyes closed, but that didn’t the process any less soul crushing.

“You’re going a bit hard.” said Haru, drained.

“It’s fine. We need to get done anyway.” replied Makoto, just as deadpan.

“Then we’re just going to have to start all over again.”

“Well, we’re probably going to do that regardless.” The tone in both their voices was becoming more heated. A heat that only continue to increase as Haru made her way over.

“Here, let me do it.” Haru tried to grab the mixer as Makoto pulled it away.

“I can handle it.” Makoto’s words and actions did little to sway her, as Haru kept reaching out.

“Can’t you just let me try!?”

“I said it was fine-” Makoto squeezed the trigger in her frustration, causing the batter to go flying, covering the two girls. The two stood stunned at what just happened. Turning to face each other, they saw just how much of a mess the other was. They did nothing else for a bit more, until a small chuckle escaped their lips, leading the way into a fit of laughter.

“Ha Ha Ha! What are we even doing!?” Makoto began to wipe the mix and tears from her eyes as she spoke.

“Heh Heh! No idea! How did we get so caught up in this?”

“I’m not sure. I guess… I guess it was because Boss and everyone else have done so much for me that I thought anything less than perfect would be letting them down. But it was because of that mindset that I got so hung up on things that hardly mattered and made us keep restarting.” Makoto lowered her head, but it wasn’t long till she felt a hand on her shoulder and the warm smile of her friend as she pulled it back up.

“Don’t burden all the blame, Mako-chan; I was exactly the same, placing unreason expatiations on myself. I wanted their cake to be the best it could be so bad that I lost sight of what really mattered.” Haru’s eyes drifted downward for a second before returning to match Makoto’s with the same welcoming gaze as before. “But it’s not too late. We can still pull this off, right, Mako-chan?”

There was something about Haru during times like these that you just can’t find anywhere else. No matter how you may feel, you can’t help but get suckered into all the warmness and fuzziness radiating off her. And Makoto was no exception. “Your right. Let’s make a cake and be proud of it. But first, we should probably get cleaned off.”

The two made their way over to the counter and began to clean themselves. “Oh, and Haru. I’m sorry for snapping at you like that. That was a terrible thing for me to do.”

“Don’t worry, Mako-chan; I’m not angry. I apologize for getting upset with you as well. We were just both under a lot of stress.” The two friends gave each other a smile and nod, a newfound motivation stirring within them. “Now then! Let’s do it!”

* * *

“I’m telling you, I left it right here!” said the younger mechanic.

“And I’m telling you, it’s not here anymore!” replied his furious senior. As the two continued their back and forth, Morgana watched from the outer side of the window. This went way smoother than expected; he didn’t even need to mess with Chief’s car. When he first poked his head into the building, he saw the keys for it laying out on the table. All he needed to do was hop down and climb the tires back up, and his mission was accomplished in ten seconds flat.

“Maybe someone else grabbed them by accident?”

“We already checked! That guy is asking what the holdup is, and I’m not about to tell him that we lost his keys!” Morgana turned his attention back outside. He hoped Akira would get here soon, not only so he could finally leave, but also because he was starting to feel pretty guilty for the earful he gave that guy.

And as if on que, he spotted a familiar pair running down the sidewalk across the road. Once they spotted him, Akira raised the bag he was carrying and began to shake it.

“With all due respect sir, taking it out on me isn’t going to solve anything.”

“Well, what else am I supposed to do!? It’s not like they’re just going to fall out of the sky.” The keys landed on the table next to them with a loud thud. “…It’s not like a million yen is going to fall out of the sky!”

* * *

Akira and his group scurried up the steps leading to Yongen-Jaya’s streets, the setting summer sun bathing them as they made a mad dash towards LeBlanc. Once the café was in sight, Akira almost couldn’t believe it. He hasn’t been so excited to see this place since summer started.

“I know we’re all tired, but if they’re not done, we got to help. Understand?” said Akira, turning to face the others as he grabbed the doorknob.

“Of course!” said Morgana.

“Totally!” answered Futaba, bursting with energy.

“Alright.” said Akira. He didn’t show it, but part of him was still worried that the others might have had similar hardships. Steeling himself for whatever else might be in store, Akira opened to door and saw…

The place topped from head to toe in a sea of directions.

“Well, look who finally deiced to show up!” said Ryuji, hanging up a banner that said **HAPPY BIRTHDAY** alongside Yusuke. After they were finished, the two boys made their way towards the new arrivals, Ryuji’s face losing its smile once he got a better look at them. “Woah. You guys look like you got the snot beaten out of you. What happened?”

“It’s a long story… Speaking of-” Getting just as good a look at them, Akira could see the cuts and brushes across Ryuji and Yusuke. “What happened to you guys?”

“It’s a long story.” said Ann, located behind the counter and decorating it with party hats. “But anyway, what do you guys think!?”

“It’s incredible!” stated Futaba, eyes darting all over the place.

“I concur!” said Morgana, leaping up onto a chair and then the counter. “Excellent work team!”

Akira echoed their words. The three had transformed the somber café into the perfect party palace. There were colorful streamers across the walls, napkins just a bright set across the tables, the only thing off was-

“What’s up with the balloons?” Akira didn’t want to bring the mood down, but there was an elephant in the room. Instead of floating about, the balloons were instead tapped to the beams above, dangling downward like punching bags with overly long strings.

“Well, we failed to take into consideration that we would need helium to keep the party favors afloat, so we had to make a few compromises.” answered Yusuke, frowning. “I can assure you; no one is more ashamed about this predicament as I am.”

“No no, Yusuke, its’ fine! I was just curious was all!” A smile returned to Yusuke as Akira took in the rest of his surroundings. “Man… You guys really did an amazing job. How can I thank you?”

“You can thank us by telling us you got the present.” said Ryuji, taking notice of the bag in Akira’s hand. “That’s it, right?”

“Yep!” Akira took the box set out. “You guys get the wrapping paper?”

“You know it!” said Ann, grapping the roll and tossing it towards Akira. After his catch he quickly sat down at one of the tables and got to work, Futaba, Ryuji, and Yusuke joining him. But just as he was about to start, he heard the chime of the front door, causing everyone’s heart to skip a beat.

“Sorry we’re late!” apologized Makoto, holding a blue box as her and Haru entered. Those in the café let out a sigh of relief. “Something wrong?”

“Nah, we just thought you were Sojiro.” replied Futaba.

“My, this place is so lovely!” said Haru, a cheerful expression forming on her face.

“You’re right; you guys went above and beyond!” followed up Makoto, her look mirroring Haru’s.

“Any trouble with the cake?” asked Morgana.

“Well… We’ll tell you later.” Makoto hurried to change the subject. “Anything we can do to help?”

“Nope.” said Ryuji. “We’re good to go as soon as the present is wrapped up.”

“Wait, there is one more thing.” Ann reached into one of her bags as she spoke. “We still need to sign his Birthday card!”

“Let’s get on that then.” replied Akira, sliding the gift to the side. Makoto and Haru headed to the large group, while an Ann carrying the card and Morgana followed suit.

* * *

“Are you sure he’s coming?” whispered Morgana.

“Uh-hu. He said he was on his way.” said Futaba just as softly.

“What did you say to get him to come?”

“Something about a drain breakage and flooding. Don’t worry about it.”

With everything in place, all they needed was for the main man to arrive. Futaba texted him to head over to LeBlanc while the Thieves killed the lights and waited in hiding. It hasn’t been long, but the wait was making them anxious.

“Everyone ready?” asked Akira, looking back towards the others from the front of the store. He got a couple of nods and ‘yes’es and returned to his spot behind the plant. They continued like this for a bit longer, until he saw the knob begin to turn. Singling the rest to hit the deck, the third-year got ready for the big moment.

“What this about a flood now?” said Sojiro, opening the door. Then suddenly, the lights shot on, people emerged from out of the blue, several loud bangs went off, and then shouting in unison that said:

“HAPPY BIRTHDAY!”

“AUGH!” Sojiro nearly feel backwards, too in shook to even take in the confetti raining on top of him.

“Are you okay!?” asked Futaba, rushing towards him as he grabbed the side of the door for support.

“Maybe we overdid it a bit.” lamented Akira, coming out from where he hit the lights.

“Wa-What is all this!?” said a still shaken Sojiro.

“It’s your surprise party!” answered Futaba, fists clenched in excitement.

“My what?”

“Surprise party! For your Birthday!”

“My Birthday…” After calming down a bit, Sojiro brought his hand to the bottom of his chin and thought hard about what today’s date was. “…Oh yeah, guess it is my Birthday!”

“That’s all you have to say!?” Futaba got up in Sojiro’s face, fists now clench in anger. “You get to have a Birthday party for the first time in forever, and you’re like ‘Is that what today is!’”

“Ca-Calm down Futaba, what’s got you so riled up. Plus, how did you even know it was my Birthday?”

“That’s not important! What is important, is that now you can do things for yourself without having to worry about me all the time, and I… well…” Futaba backed off and began to rub her arm as she drew her attention towards the floor. The atmosphere became heavy, with everyone looking upon her with concern.

“Futaba…” said Akira. He attempted to reach out to her but Sojiro beat him to the punch.

“I that what you think?” asked Sojiro in a soft whisper, placing his hands on her shoulders. When she didn’t respond, he continued. “I didn’t stop celebrating my Birthday because of you, I just got to the age where I stopped caring. Me not doing things for myself much is just a byproduct of being an old fart.”

“Re…Really?” whimpered Futaba, raising her head to meet the kind look on his face.

“Yeah, really. But man…” Sojiro peered his gaze all around, getting a good look at the place “You kids really went all out, didn’t you?”

“You know it!” shouted Ryuji. “But you really have Ann and Yusuke to thank for how good this place looks.”

“Knock it off, Ryuji!” said Ann, giving him a playful elbow in the gut, unable to stop herself from smiling.

“We also made you a homemade cake.” said Haru. Futaba scooted to the side, clearing a view for Sojiro to see the open box Haru was holding. It was delectably frosted, covered with scrumptious looking strawberries, and in the center had _You’re The Boss_ written out.

“And don’t forget your present.” added Akira, handing Sojiro the gift and card he was holding. When he opened the card, he saw the signature of all the Thieves and a tiny pawprint from Morgana.

“You all didn’t have to do this for me.” said Sojiro, feeling positively overwhelmed by all their hard work. “My Birthday really isn’t that big a deal for me anymore.”

“Then think of it as us saying thanks for everything you’ve done for us. Now come on, open it.”

With little choice with all eyes on him in anticipation, Sojiro torn through the wrapping, freezing in sight once he saw its contents. A thousand emotions and memories flooded him at once. He stood there like a statue, his visions becoming blurry with tears.

“Man… You kids really are something else.” Sojiro removed his glasses and wiped his face with his arm. “Alright, why don’t you start slicing the cake while I go pop this baby in.”

“Leave it to me.” said Makoto, taking the cake to the counter. Just then a loud grow echoed through LeBlanc.

“If it’s not too much trouble, could you save a bigger slice for me.” said Yusuke, hand on his stomach. “I haven’t eaten since this morning.”

“You snooze you lose, Inari!” shouted Futaba, rushing past him to snatch the first slice. It wasn’t long thill the small café fell into a rowdiness that only a group like this could muster.

“You look happy.” said Morgana on the counter next to Akira. Their leader had a grin on his face as he watched the chaos unfold.

“Just happy to be home, Morgana.” said Akira. Looking down at his friend, he could tell he felt the same as well. “Happy to be home.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So yeah, finishing before my semester started didn't exactly work out. *shrugs* Sorry about the massive delay, my life has been hectic ever since college started back up, but at the very least I can say I saw this through till the end. Thank you to all who have read this far, it truly does mean a lot to me. Any and all feedback is apprenticed, and I hope whatever I write next doesn't take a quarter of a year lol. Thanks again!

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you all so much for taking the time to read this! I'd call this my first real attempt at writing a fanfic, so I hope my writing is at least passable lol. I've got more planned and I'll do my best to get the next chapter out as soon as I can. Any and all feedback is appropriated! Thank you again for reading!


End file.
